Virginia Tech Baseball: Shane Connolly drafted by the Kansas City Royals

Virginia Tech baseball pitcher, Shane Connolly was selected in the 2021 MLB Draft by the Kansas City Royals with the 289th pick.

The 6’3”, 175 lb. pitcher from Huntersville, North Carolina, was the 11th player drafted by the Royals and the sixth pitcher. The 289th pick holds a pick value of 147.70K.

Before coming to Virginia Tech, Connolly spent three seasons at the Citadel, where he played in 27 games, starting 19 of those. He had 72 strikeouts during his time with the Citadel. In 2019, he pitched two complete-game shutouts.

The Virginia Tech Hokies ended the season with a 27-25 overall record and went 16-20 in ACC play. The left-handed pitcher was a really important piece to the Virginia Tech baseball program in his first year.

He appeared in 21 games, six of which were starts, and pitched 63 innings on the season. He posted a 4.14 ERA which ranked fourth on the team. Connolly also had the second most strikeouts among Hokies with 81. He held opponents to just a .238 batting average on the season.

Connolly is one of 34 players from the ACC drafted so far. He was also the first Hokie to be selected in the 2021 draft. The Hokies have had 82 players selected in the history of the MLB Draft. There are still some Hokies left in the Draft, like second baseman Nick Biddison.

The last day of the MLB Draft will on Tuesday, July 13th, at noon ET.